UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Caceres Recap in Salt Lake City

When the show begins hit F5 or refresh as often as you like for the latest updates! Tonight's main event is TUF Latin America winner Yair Rodriguez putting his UFC undefeated streak on the line against Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres!

* Heavyweight: Chase Sherman vs. Justin Ledet

Ledet is out first in the black trunks. Sherman has on blue trunks. 26 to 27, 6'4" each, 245 to 234.5 and 78" to 80" reach from Sherman to Ledet. Ledet is 6-0 and fights out of Rosharon, Texas. Sherman is 9-1 and fights out of D'Iberville, Mississippi. Our referee is Dave Seljestad.

Ledet moves to the outer circle of the Octagon right away. Sherman responds with hard kicks to the left leg. Ledet moves to the center and hits a hard combo. You can see redness forming on Sherman's face right away. Ledet keeps popping the left hand and the right hook and snapping Sherman's head back when he does, but Ledet is tiring of it and now he's throwing heavy leather too. He goes back to the leg kicks again but Ledet keeps finding the range. With two minutes gone it's surprising nobody has fallen, and that Ledet is still smiling. Ledet hurts Sherman at 2:35 but not enough to knock him down. Ledet keeps getting clinch for a knee. Sherman keeps blocking the left jab and the right hook with his face. 3:30. Ledet lands a big right hook and a knee at 3:53. Sherman looks like he's starting to gas. He eats another hard right at 4:31. His arms are now hanging down around his waist. 10-9 Ledet.

Sherman is sucking wind hard on his stool between rounds. The middle of his face is red from his brown to his chin. His corner wants Sherman to kick his leg out but instead he stands and fires off a combo at 22 seconds THEN throws the leg kick. Ledet keeps popping him in the face. Sherman comes straight forward - he seems as stiff as a tree trunk. No looseness or fluidity to his movement. Still like a tree he's hard to knock over with one blow, even though the blood is now streaming down his face. Ledet is having a better time avoiding the leg kicks as Sherman keeps moving slower and slower. Ledet seems to land his left hand at will. I'm starting to wonder if Sherman is going to be able to see in R3. He nearly spits out his mouthpiece at 4:14. Ledet starts to unload at 4:30 then shakes his head like "nah you can't knock me out." Ledet's sure trying though. On to R3!

Ledet starts popping off his left hands right away to start R3. Sherman complains about an eye poke at 19 seconds but the ref didn't see it and does nothing. Sherman is lumbering around the cage like a man posessed. He spreads his arms wide at 1:38 trying to beg Ledet to engage but Ledet plays it cool. Fight Pass freezes at 2:01. I get it back on 90 seconds later and Sherman is still plodding forward with blood streaming down his face. He throws his hands up again at 4:20 as the crowd boos. Ledet is being smart and circling away, only striking when he needs to, not playing Ledet's game. The two exchange unpleasantries at the end of the fight.

Justin Ledet wins 30-27 X3 UD.

* Featherweight: Cub Swanson {#5} vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri {#14}

Kawajiri is out first in the red trunks. Swanson is wearing blue trunks tonight. 32 to 38, 5'8" to 5'7", 144.5 to 145.5 and 70" to 69" reach from Swanson to Kawajiri. Kawajiri is 35-9-2 and fights out of Ibaraki, Japan. Swanson is 22-7 and fights out of Palm Springs, California. Our referee is John McCarthy.

Kawajiri is the first out the gate with a couple of leg kicks and he even tries a spinning backfist (that misses). Swanson lands a right hand and Kawajiri backs away. Swanson slips to one knee as Kawajiri throws a counter left, then he hits Kawajiri with another big right and he was clearly stunned. Kawajiri goes for a single leg and eats some hard elbows. Swanson breaks free at 1:40. Left hook, overhand right, left head kick for Swanson. Kawajiri lands a right that momentarily hurts Swanson. Kawajiri gets a takedown at the halfway point and is on top in half guard. Full mount at 3:15. Swanson is trying to trap an arm but Swanson is blocking well. Kawajiri moves back to half and throws a couple of lefts. Swanson has full guard at 4:30 and holds Kawajiri off to force R2.

As with R1 Kawajiri throws kicks and Swanson responds with a right. Kawajiri tries a couple of flying knees. Swanson ducks a spinning backfist and lands the over the top right. Swanson lands an uppercut as he blocks a takedown attempt. Leg kicks from Kawajiri. Kawajiri goes for a double leg but Swanson counters perfectly into a back mount and goes for the rear naked choke right away with both hooks in. Kawajiri pulls the hand down and escapes at 2:15. They stand again at the halfway point. Uppercut for Swanson and spinning back elbow for Kawajiri at the same time. They start slugging it out at 2:50 and Swanson hits an accidental knee while Kawajiri had a hand down so John McCarthy calls time. The doctor checks him over and Kawajiri says he's good to continue. McCarthy gives Swanson a warning but doesn't deduct a point since it wasn't a targetted knee to the head and the fight resumes. They slug it out at 3:40 and then Kawajiri goes for a single leg but Swanson backs right up to the fence. Swanson breaks it at 4:30. Swanson knocked Kawajiri down with a hard leg kick and nearly cleaned Kawajiri's clock after it. 10-9 Swanson.

Kawajiri rushes to the center to start R3. Combo from Swanson at 0:30. Kawajiri gets hit with a right hook and Swanson tries to sprawl to stuff the takedown but Kawajiri gets it at 0:52. Kawajiri pulls up on the legs to put Swanson flat on his back but Swanson kicks off and gets back up at 1:43. Kawajiri shoots right away and tries to get a leg trip but it's not there. He keeps digging for the double and gets the takedown at 2:19. Swanson escapes at 2:59. Swanson comes forward and he has Kawajiri hurt and he lands a knee to the body as Kawajiri goes for a heel hook. Swanson spins and takes his back and gets both hooks in. Kawajiri sweeps on top with 10 seconds left but Swanson sweeps right back and lands a big right before the horn. The judges will decide.

Both guys are evenly matched through the first 90 seconds. Gutierrez stuffed a takedown attempt though. He's also in the center a little more than his opponent. Gutierrez lands a nice combo at 2:10 as he's pushing forward but then gets caught with a left, Ishihara looks at the ref to stop it, then hits another left to finish it.

2:32 TKO FOR "I ALWAYS GOOD JOB" ISHIHARA. The quote is from his post fight interview, where he also declared I LOVE MY LADIES and MY MOTHER HAPPY BIRTHDAY. He's a fountain of charisma and I mean thousands of gallons of water. Book this man in bigger fights!

* Lightweight: David Teymur vs. Jason Novelli

27 to 37, 5'9" to 6'0", 155 to 155.5 and 73" to 75.5" reach from Teymur to Novelli. Black trunks for Novelli, 11-1-1, fighting out of Portland, Oregon. Yellow trunks for Teymur, 4-1, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden. Our referee in charge is Herb Dean.

Teymur catches a kick and counters with one of his own. He sticks to the kicks as he tries to stay out of the longer Novelli's range. Novelli keeps trying to push him toward the fence but Teymur is landing body kicks and a left hand to boot. Novelli tries to get a takedown but Teymur breaks clean at 1:50. Somewhere in that exchange he got a cut under his left eye. Novelli tends to land one shot at a time while Teymur lands combos, but Novelli hits a nice knee to the chin at 3:19. Teymur gets a knockdown at 3:40. Teymur has been the more aggressive striker throughout the round - nice kicks, nice body work. 10-9 Teymur.

Teymur shoots for a takedown at 36 seconds and gets stuffed. They clinch again and reset at 1:03. Teymur hurts him with a left at 1:20 and finishes it about 15 seconds later! Novelli's face has just EXPLODED with blood. You can see on the replay that Novelli was in trouble right away and Teymur kept pouring it on until Herb Dean had absolutely no doubt.

Tybura is throwing heavy right hands early. Pesta doesn't seem impressed but his face says otherwise. Tybura's also got a left hand and a front kick though. So far the first minute is all his. Pesta goes for a takedown and gets stuffed. Tybura has Pesta avoiding instead of attacking, and even so he eats another big right before the halfway point of R1. Tybura looks like the thicker, stouter, stronger man of the two. Crowd is on the verge of getting impatient at 3:47. Nice left from Tybura at 4:08. Pesta goes for a single leg. Nothing doing. Tybura turns him around and throws a knee. 10-9 Tybura.

Tybura has Pesta backpedaling again right away. TYBURA FINISHES WITH THE HEAD KICK OF DOOM KNOCKOUT 53 SECONDS INTO R2. He came right behind a left hook with a perfect left leg to the head right on the button and John McCarthy waved it off IMMEDIATELY. Bruce Buffer confirms the time after the commercial.

* Welterweight: Court McGee vs. Dominique Steele

14-7 in the white trunks, 5'10", 170 pounds, fighting out of Cincy is Steele in the black trunks, 18-4, 5'11", 169.5 fighting out of Orem, Utah is McGee. Our referee is Dan Miragliotta. McGee hurts Steele with a right hand in the first ten seconds and gets thrown to the ground right away. McGee has his back with both hooks in. Steele escapes and gets up at 1:36. They reset on the feet at 2:04. Steele returns the favor with a right hand at 3:29 and follows up with a knee. McGee spins away at 3:45. Steele hurts him coming forward at 4:24 and McGee turns hm around looking for a takedown as time expires.

Steele tries a head kick early in R2 that's checked. Big left hook for Steele. Steele has McGee hurt with a left at 1:04. They tie up on the fence and McGee turns him around and drops levels looking for a single. They break at 2:24. Steele lands another right. McGee shoots for a power double leg takedown at 2:55 and gets it but Steele pops right back up. McGee goes for a single but Miragliotta wants more work. McGee throws a knee and then drops levels again. McGee looks for a late takedown but it's not there.

Steele is continuing to take McGee with hard shots early in the third. McGee responds with a body kick. Steele comes forward with a flurry and some lefts but McGee weathers it. Steele goes for a flying knee. McGee and Steele jockey against the cage. McGee digs deep for a double and gets it at 2:35 but Steele pops right up again. Miragliotta tells McGee to work. He breaks them for a reset at 3:19. Steele pushes in at 3:48, they trade hands for a bit, and McGee turns Steele into the fence. Steele misses with a spinning backfist as McGee ducks under and goes for a takedown. McGee spins for an elbow and goes for one last takedown. Judges have it in their hands now.

30-27, 29-28, 29-28 for McGee UD.

* Women's Strawweight: Maryna Moroz vs. Danielle Taylor

Blue trunks, 7-1, 5'0", 115.5, fighting out of Van Nuys, CA is Taylor. Black trunks, 6-1, 5'7", 115 pounds, fighting #9 from the Ukraine is Moroz. Our referee is Herb Dean. Taylor dances away and out of range for five minutes as the crowd periodically voices its displeasure in R1. Not much else to say. She's conceding the fight to Moroz but only in terms of backing away and giving up Octagon control. Moroz has to catch up to her to actually dominate her. Taylor deserves a timidity warning.

Taylor lands one big over the top right hand at 2:10 and it's her only good shot of the fight. Moroz eats it with no problem. Taylor keeps trying to clear her left eye. Dean just warned Taylor to engage twice. Moroz keeps firing off the left jab. Dean warns them again at 4:25 as the crowd boos lightly. This is not a great fight.

Despite multiple warnings from Herb Dean to engage nothing really gets better in R3. I would say Moroz was the better striker for the entire fight but it's going to be up to the judges in Salt Lake City. Taylor goes for a late takedown and I mean late like one second left but it shouldn't make a difference.

The judges score it 29-28 Taylor, 29-28 Moroz, 30-27 SD for Moroz.

* Middleweight: Trevor Smith vs. Joe Gigliotti

White trunks, 7-0, 185.5 pounds, fighting out of Gilbert, AZ is Gigliotti. Black trunks, 13-6, 185.5 pounds, fighting out of Tukwila, WA is Smith. Our ref is Dan Miragliotta. Smith gets the only takedown of round one through the first three minutes, and two warnings are issued by Miragliotta. He also issues two warnings to get fingers out of the cage and anothr to get busy as the crowd boos. Smith is given one last warning not to grab the fence as Miragliotta stops the action at 3:30. Gigliotti gets a takedown and Smith tries to turn it into a choke but Girgliotti peels him off and goes for a guillotine of his own. Smith gets out at 4:35 and hits a knee to the head, Jon Anik thinks it might have been questionable but no ref stoppage.

Smith lands a knee early in R2 and takes the back on the ground with both hooks in. You can see Girgliotti bleeding from the nose as Smith rides on him looking for openings, softening up Girgliotti with right hands and hammerfists and left hooks from behind. Girgliotti tries to escape and Smith is on top again at 2:33. Girgliotti manages to get up after eating a ton of rights but gets taken right back down again. Smith is going for a d'arce choke late but can't get the tap before the horn.

Takedown 9 seconds into R3 for Smith. He gets up at 2 minutes and gets taken back down at 2:56 as the crowd roars disapproval but it was a smart move for Smith as he already has a commanding lead and is looking to finish this fight. He's got a full mount at 3:40 and is driving home some big elbows. This should be a unanimous decision for Smith.

30-26 X3 UD for "Hot Sauce" Smith.

* Welterweight: Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Zak Cummings

White trunks, 19-4, 6'0", 171 pounds out of Kansas City, MO is Cummings. Blue trunks, 23-3, 6'0", 171 pounds out of Coconut Creek, FL is Ponzinibbio. Herb Dean is in charge. The best shot of R1 was Ponzinibibbio landing a head kick but Cummings survived it.

R2 saw Cummings pick it up a notch with striking but Ponzinibbio still landed more strikes to the head. Both men got a warning for fingers to the eyes to open R3. Ponzibibbio may have opened up Cummings' nose this round. He's "wearing the fight" as they say and if you scored based on appearances alone Ponzinibibbio would be the winner halfway through the third. There's probably no chance Cummings can see out of his right eye at the end of this fight. Ponzinibibbio should get the UD.

Leites drives over and over looking for a takedown, finally getting piggyback on Camozzi even though he can't get him down. Miragliotta calls it a stalemate position and calls for more work. Camozzi goes down and gets back up with Leites on his back again. After much struggle and consternation Leites is going for a rear naked choke late in R1 but he can't quite sink it in in time. 10-9 round for Leites.

Leites gets Camozzi to the ground again 36 seconds into R2 and he has half guard. Camozzi is able to scramble when Leites considers a d'arce choke and lets it go but Leites gets him right back to the ground with both hooks in on his back trying to soften him up. Leites hammers away with lefts and rights to the head to end another dominant round.

Camozzi tries to turn it into a slugfest but gets taken down 29 seconds into the round. Leites is going for a rear naked choke at 2:20 but Camozzi pulls down the left arm to block it. At 2:57 or thereabouts he finally gets the tap.

Official time 2:58 of R3 via RNC for Thales Leites.

* Featherweight: Dennis Bermudez {#8} vs. Rony Jason

White trunks, 15-5, 1 NC, 146 pounds, Brazil for Rony Jason. Blue trunks, 16-5, 146 pounds, fighting out of Lindenhurst for Bermudez. Our ref is John McCarthy. Bermudez works leg kicks and then gets a takedown, Jason is trying to push off the fence with his feet and or get a triangle, but Bermudez stacks him up and drops bombs instead. Jason keeps going for things off his back but Bermudez is busing on him with big elbows and splits him open at 3:25. To make things worse for Jason he gets two warnings for linking his toes in the fence. This is a literal one-sided massacre for Bermudez. No doubt in my mind it's a 10-8.

Bermudez has Jason on his back 27 seconds into this round and wastes no time looking for a back mount. Jason tries to roll to shake him loose and gets back up at 1:30. He dances away at 1:48. Blood is pouring down his head. Another single leg takedown at 2:36. Dumps him again at 3:35. Every time Jason gets up he's going back down but he is getting back up. He ends R2 with another big takedown and some ground and pound.

Jason doesn't seem despondent that he's losing - he rallies the crowd and gives Bermudez a pount to open R3. I haven't mentioned it to this point but Bermudez is also nailing Jason with some nasty leg kicks throughout this fight. Jason stuffs a takedown and lands a good counter left hook. Jason counters a takedown and gets the back and gets under Bermudez' chin. Bermudez escapes turns and gets on top at 3:43 and is landing more elbows. Bermudez cuts Jason open AGAIN. Jason gets up before the horn and Bermudez throws one last kick to the body. The UD will go to "The Menace" here.

30-27, 30-26 and 30-27 for Bermudez UD. He calls out Frankie Edgar for UFC 205 MSG!

* Featherweight: Yair Rodriguez {#13} vs. Alex Caceres

23 to 28, 5'11" to 5'10", 146 to 146 and 71" to 73.5" reach from Rodriguez to Caceres. Herb Dean will ref our main event. Rodriguez is in the green trunks and Caceres the white. Caceres is 12-8, 1 NC and fights out of Miami. Rodriguez is 8-1 and fights out of Chicago. Here we go!

Caceres goes for the Superman punch early. Rodriguez goes for a flying body kick. Both are using spinning kicks. Head kick by Rodriguez. Right hand to the head by Rodriguez. Another head kick by Rodriguez. Rodriguez throws a head kick so hard lands on the ground, and then Caceres tries to take him down to the ground, but Rodriguez attacks with a leg lock and Caceres has to let him back up. Rodriguez hurts him a little with a kick at the 4 minute mark and tries (but fails) to take the back on the fence. Caceres swarms him to end R1. 10-9 Yair.

Rodriguez lands another head kick 8 seconds into R2 and tries a spinning cartwheel kick to boot. He tries swarm two times and Caceres flees rapidly. Caceres with a left hand. Rodriguez with a flying knee. Rodriguez considers a takedown at the 3 minute mark but lets it go. Rodriguez eats another left from Caceres. 2-3 straight body kicks from Rodriguez. 10-9 Yair.

Body kick and right hand from Caceres. Rodriguez comes forward with a flurry and a knee. Caceres' striking is getting better this round. Rodriguez seems to be slowing down. Right hook and side kick from Rodriguez. Caceres with a left hand and a knee to the body. Right hook from Caceres. Caceres gets on top as Rodriguez tries to pull guard for a submission and he's landing some big shots. Rodriguez gets up before the horn. 10-9 Caceres.

It's easy to get mesmerized just watching the wild spinning strikes and unorthodox movement of both men in this fight. It's getting late in the night and I am very tired. I'm losing perspective on who is winning any more although I feel Caceres is doing progressively better every round since the third began.

Rodriguez was winning the striking for the first 90 seconds, Caceres got a takedown, Rodriguez swept and both men get back up with three minutes left. Both men go all out in the last 30 seconds, and Rodriguez throws one last cartwheeling kick before the final horn. My perception is that Rodriguez wins this 48-47 or 49-46.